This invention relates, in general, to a device useful in the conveyance of a dry, fluid substance containing particulate matter from one receptacle to another and, more particularly, to a device adapted to direct the dry, fluid substance from a delivering receptacle into a receiving receptacle in a manner substantially reducing the amount of particulate matter released into the atmosphere during the delivery process while enabling the reintroduction of the particulate matter into the stream of substance being delivered into the receptacle.
Various industrial and commercial processes involve the conveyance of a dry, fluid substance from one receptacle to another. Oftentimes, the substance has particulate matter or "fines" associated with it which tend to be released into the atmosphere as a dust during the conveyance process, thereby polluting the surrounding environment. As is understood, this creates an undesirable and potentially hazardous environment in the vicinity surrounding the receiving receptacle, especially near the substance discharge point. The problem is particularly problematic when grain products are being conveyed from one receptacle to another because of the high levels of particulate matter associated with many grain products.
Conventionally, a substance, such as grain, is conveyed to a vessel, such as a barge, through a loading device and the dust created by the loading process at the discharge point is removed by being "vacuumed" into a dust collector located remotely from the discharge point. A hose connected at one end to the dust collector is typically coupled to the loading device so that the dust is removed as the substance is being loaded. The hose acts as a vacuum, with the negative air pressure created by a fan in the dust collector, to draw the dust from the discharge point to the dust collector. Because the particulate matter associated with grain is considered valuable and useful, it is typically collected in a hopper associated with the dust collector and reintroduced into the supply of grain being loaded. This reintroduction of grain dust into the supply of grain which already contains a significant amount of particulate matter creates a supply of grain that has an even higher concentration of particulate matter. This tends to create even more dust at the discharge point as the loading process continues. Therefore, in a conventional grain loading process the amount of particulate matter associated with the grain increases as the loading process proceeds because the grain dust is recirculated from the grain to the hopper, returned to the grain and so on creating a recirculating load of grain dust particles in the grain supply. In fact, some loading facilities have been forced to cease the loading of grain into the vessel and load only dust until the dust has been cleared from the system. The end result of such process is the release of more dust into the atmosphere.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a device that can effectively reduce the amount of dust released into the atmosphere during the conveyance of a dry, fluid substance, such as grain, while also permitting the re-introduction of the collected particulate matter or dust into the stream of the substance being conveyed without recirculating the dust into the supply of substance yet to be conveyed.